Armand Queyroy’s etching, “Dans les Landes”, 1863

Armand Queyroy (aka Louis Armand Queyroy) (1830–1893)

“Dans les Landes”, 1863, printed by Auguste Delâtre (1822–1907) and published by Alfred Cadart (1828–1875) & Cie as plate 54 in the first volume of 60 prints produced by the Société des Aquafortistes in “Eaux-Fortes Modernes: Originales et Inédites” (1863).

Etching on buff colour laid paper with a watermark

Size: (sheet) 33.8 x 25.5 cm; (plate) 32 x 23.8 cm; (image borderline) 29.6 x 21.3 cm

Numbered on the plate outside the image borderline at upper right: “54.”

Inscribed with the artist signature on the plate within the image borderline at lower right.

Lettered below the image borderline: (left) “A. Queyroy sculpt.”; (centre) DANS LES LANDES. / Paris, Publié par A. CADART & Cie. Éditeurs, 66, Rue Richelieu.”; (right) “Imp. Delȃtre, Rue St. Jacques, 303, Paris.”

Béraldi 6

J.Bailly-Herzberg 1972, “La Société des Aquafortistes”, II p.160

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“Plate 54: shepherd propped on stilts in landscape, knitting, his dogs and sheep around him at base; from the first volume of prints produced by the Société des Aquafortistes. 1863 Etching” (http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1343033&partId=1&searchText=queyroy+dans+les+landes&page=1)

Condition: richly inked, well-printed/faultless impression from the first edition in pristine condition.

I am selling this fascinating image of one of the famous stilt-walking shepherds of France’s heathlands knitting a poorly formed sock—an assessment of the quality of the shepherd’s knitting made by a chap who wouldn’t know one thing about knitting socks but who knows that he wouldn’t want that particular sock—for AU$146 (currently US$111.48/EUR94.07/GBP83.76 at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this print of a man doing men’s business while at work, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Although my knowledge about men who knit socks standing on stilts in the heathlands of France is very thin, when I was researching 19^th century shepherd practices in rural France the one thing that I was not expecting was to read insights from was someone as sensible as Victor Hugo—THE famous Victor Hugo!

The reason that I started translating the fine words of the legendary Victor Hugo was simple: Armand Queyroy—the etcher of this curious print showing how to knit a sock while being a manly man—had asked Hugo for his opinion about this (and other) prints by Queyroy—from what I understand, Queyroy had only just begun to etch at this time.

To move quickly to what Hugo had to say to Queyrory about his prints, I have taken just a few lines from Hugo’s letter that I found in a short essay by Antoine Paillet “Du Loir à l’Allier, Armand Queyroy, un artiste «central »” (published in the bulletin, “Société de la Archéologique Scientifique & Littéraire du Vendômois”, 2013):

(Translated from French) “You have a true and fine talent, the look that grasps the style, the firm, agile and strong touch, a lot of wit in the [line] and a lot of naivety, and this gift rare light in the shadow. What strikes me and charm me in your etchings, it's the big day, the cheerful, the smiling aspect, the joy of the beginning which is all the grace of the morning. Your boards seem bathed in dawn. … I shake your hand, sir.

Victor Hugo”